After a well is drilled and a target reservoir has been encountered, completion and production operations are performed, which may include running a tubing string downhole within the wellbore. Often, a first zone of the tubing string is isolated from a second zone of the tubing string. In order to isolate the first zone from the second zone, a packing assembly, such as a bridge plug that includes a seal element is extended into the tubing string. The bridge plug is “set” moved into an expanded state such that the seal element sealingly engages an inner surface of the tubing string to isolate the first zone from the second zone.
Often, a seal element is run downhole in a neutral configuration (i.e., undergoing no axial tensile or compression loading) and then expands to contact the inner surface of the tubing string, which often results in a high amount of stress and strain on the seal element. This may result in poor sealing performance and retrievability issues.
The present disclosure is directed to a retrievable pre-tension packing assembly for mid-expansion applications that addresses one or more of the foregoing issues.